Mayor Rahm Emanuel's campaign committee raised $1 million in the last quarter of 2012, giving the mayor a war chest of $2 million more than two years before his presumed re-election bid, sources tell Crain's Greg Hinz.

JAPANESE AIRLINES GROUND BOEING DREAMLINERS

Japan's two biggest airlines grounded all their Boeing 787 aircraft for safety checks Wednesday after one was forced to make an emergency landing. It was the latest in a series of incidents and a blow for the new jet. Here is the AP story.

RITZ-CARLTON'S EXPENSIVE ALLEY

The developer of the Ritz-Carlton Residences on North Michigan Avenue has won a $36.4 million judgment against the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago after a judge ruled the district wrongly blocked an access alley for about three years, delaying construction of the luxury Ritz tower. Chicago Real Estate Daily has more.

TRIBUNE'S LONG ROAD THROUGH CHAPTER 11

The Tribune's final installment of its series on Sam Zell's broken deal to take over the company looks at the four-year drama through bankruptcy. Here is the story.

BOUNTIFUL BOTTOM LINE FOR BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS

While corporate clients are known to scrutinize their legal bills, bankruptcy remains an area where anything goes in billing. Case in point: the Tribune paying professional services fees approaching $300 million during the four-year reorganization, writes Crain's Joe Cahill.

PENSION PROBLEM'S REAL CAUSE

Springfield's pension fix proposals have focused on benefit cuts and failed to deal with the true cause: The state used the pension systems like a credit card, borrowing against what it owed to cover the cost of providing current services, then creating an unaffordable repayment schedule, says Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. In a guest op-ed, he proposes an approach that actually solves the problem by dealing with its cause.

HILLENBRAND'S COMEBACK

The Wall Street Journal looks at recent moves by Chicago's Eric Hillenbrand, who helped lay the foundation for commercial mortgage backed securities in the 1990s. He's now returning to the market he pioneered by raising funds to buy the riskiest slices of the debt after a five-year break. Here is the story.

AUSSIE VITAMIN MAKER SETS UP SHOP IN CHICAGO

An Australian vitamin- and supplement-maker plans to bring more than 100 jobs to Chicago within the next year as it sets up its North American headquarters and rolls out 15 of its most popular products in Walgreen Co. stores nationwide. The Chicago Tribune story is here.

MCDONALD'S INTRODUCES MCBAGUETTE IN FRANCE

McDonald's Corp. tries to appeal to local tastes by putting a baguette sandwich on its menu in France, the company's most profitable market after the U.S. Bloomberg asks a French chef for his opinion.